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The Review is hosted by the Kinesiology Department at Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Texas).

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Grastin

Graston- Blog 9

Surgery is complete and now you are optimistic about the road to recovery. However, a few weeks/months come and go and you notice that you are still having some pain at the incision site, or in proximity to it, and may not have full range of motion. You then start to wander what is going on, surgery was supposed to fix the problem, right?

What you might be dealing with as an athlete is the scar tissue that could be causing pain and movement restrictions. So how is this problem taken care of exactly? Well, thanks to a guy who was having similar issues we, healthcare professionals, know have a therapeutic modality called Graston that addresses this very problem.

Graston is a unique type of IASTM (instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization) that allows clinicians or trainers to effectively “address scar tissue, fascial restrictions and range of motion through comprehensive training”1, ultimately leading to an improvement in patient outcomes. This technique uses one of six specifically designed instruments made from stainless steel that can detect and treat areas that show chronic inflammation or soft tissue fibrosis (thickening and scarring of connective tissue). When a soft tissue injury occurs, the tissue can repair itself but in an irregular pattern thus creating what we call scar tissue. Scar tissue can be problematic because it usually doesn’t realign perfectly with the uninjured soft tissue. This would be an appropriate time to incorporate Graston into the rehab.

The purpose of Graston is to create micro-trauma at the site of the injured tissue. This action enhances inflammation which then increases the blood flow to the damaged area ultimately helping the process of repair and remodeling.

There are many indications in which using the Graston technique would be appropriate. Some of these indications include muscle strain/sprain, tendinosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, rotator cuff tendinosis, etc. Just like with anything, there are reasons where Graston wouldn’t be the best modality to use such as open wounds, high blood pressure, active tumor, pregnant, fracture, hemophilia, etc. Graston can be performed around 1-2 times a week during the course of about 4-5 weeks. Graston is a fairly new and unique way to help improve the rehabilitation process and allow the athlete to get the most out of their workout.